TOUR AMERICA, 2021: MAYBERRY CAMPGROUND, MOUNT AIRY, NORTH CAROLINA

Places We Have Called Home In 2021

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Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Temperature, Low 38 Degrees; High, 74 Degrees

Eng and Chang Bunker

What a delightful but cold morning we awoke to. I would have thought by now that we were done with such temperatures but alas that is not to be. No matter, we have Tiny Tim and a nice big blue comforter to keep us warm.

The view out our front door.

How about this, a home made tear drop trailer.

Time to go sightseeing. Today we wanted to visit the grave site of Chang and Eng Bunker and learn more about the two of them.

What I discovered is as follows: Chang (on the left) and Eng (on the right) were the original Siamese Twins. They were born in Thailand in 1811. On tour in the U.S. they performed four hours a day, six days a week. They did somersaults and backflips and showed an uncanny ability at chess. They soon grew weary of being continually stared at, even for money, and wanted no more than to settle down and lead a quiet, normal life.

They decided to settle down in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Canny and industrious businessmen they opened a store, bought 2000 acres and branched into farming and build a spacious house for themselves. The campground we are in was once part of their farm.

They married sisters and raised a total of 21 children. Chang had ten and Eng had eleven. It has been noted that the children fathered by each were usually born within days of each other. At first all four lived under the same roof. It is said that when in bed the two men slept in the middle, and each sister slept to the outside. However, the sisters soon began to quarrel and so two homes were eventually built, Chang and Eng spending equal time in each home. Today, over 1,500 of their descendants sill live in the vicinity of Mt. Airy.

On January 17, 1874 Eng awoke to find that Chang had died. Then I am going to die said Eng and within three hours he also had passed away. It was thought that Eng had literally died of fright realizing that he was now connected to a dead man.

An autopsy revealed that the two could never have been safely separated because of the blood loss that would have occurred during the operation.

The highway marker indicating the location of their gravesite.

The church behind which you will find their gravesite.

Their gravesite.

There is, of course, a lot more to be found regarding Chang and Eng and I encourage you to Google them and read more of their fascinating story.

That was in part our day on The Road of Retirement. We had a fascinating day of discovery and once again were able to learn a bit about this area and people who settled here. Our day did not end here and tomorrow I’ll share with you what we did during the latter part of the day. Till then, have a great evening.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.  We always appreciate your company, your comments, and your suggestions. Keep safe, keep healthy, live to the fullest the days that God gives you.

These are the voyages of  Elvira and her two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before.

See you on down the road!